Hronek is a solid two-way defender who has a high understanding of the play around him and what his role is on the ice. He dishes some very smooth passes on the tape, but struggles to handle heavy passes himself at times. He is a speedy defender with a fluid stride, though he is lanky and there’s not much strength in his lower body to help his stride. Hronek looks very good handling the puck, especially on the power play, until he gets pressured and tends to get flustered. We would like to see him slow the play down, make his reads quicker and set up a bit better as a puck distributor. Hronek gets muscled off the puck at the half wall too easily, but continues to show confidence in skating with the puck up ice and taking it into the offensive zone. He has soft hands and can make a move to get around a defender when needed. He needs to shoot the puck more often as his play has become somewhat telegraphed; he is a 100% pass-first player. Defensively, he needs to add strength so he can separate his man from the puck and not get outmuscled in the crease by attacking forwards. Hronek utilizes his stick and positioning to defend the rush. He’s not physical as his size is a detriment to playing that type of game. He had some very impressive moments this season, like dominating the U19, but he has a lot of work to do to round out his game and add much needed muscle.   (May 2016)